 |
|
|
|
CIC Cascade26 April 2005
1. CIC calls for a better post-election structure for government to interact with those who design, create and manage the built environment Stuart Henderson, Chairman of the Construction Industry Council has written to the Prime Minister and the Leaders of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Parties on behalf of CIC’s membership to seek post-election improvement to the way in which the construction industry is recognised by, and interacts with government. These letters mark the culmination of a six-month campaign by CIC to express the collective concerns of its diverse membership about the fragmented nature of the government's recognition and interaction with the industry and the progressive narrowing of the definition and scope of the sponsorship role within the DTI. The full text of the letter to the Prime Minister can be viewed at http://www.cic.org.uk/newsevents/PRCIClettertoPM060405.pdf The messages were also emphasised by Graham Watts, Chief Executive of CIC in his speech at the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers Patrons Lunch at the House of Lords on 19 April . Read the full speech at http://www.cic.org.uk/Speeches/GWtoCIBSE190405.doc 2. Sector skills agreement for construction ‘best ever opportunity’ to tackle industry’s skills needs The vision of a construction industry that is fully qualified, highly professional and working safely to deliver outstanding value, came one step closer on 22 March with the launch of a set of agreements that put employers squarely at the centre of decisions about the funding and delivery of training in construction. The construction industry Sector Skills Agreement (SSA), negotiated by ConstructionSkills, was a key delivery mechanism for the Government’s latest Adult Skills White Paper, announced today by Education Minister Ruth Kelly. Heathrow’s Terminal 5, one of the UK’s largest construction sites, was the venue for the launch of the white paper. This is an example of a ‘best practice’ site where skills and training are at the top of the agenda. The SSA is a series of agreements between training providers, employers and Government, designed to address the construction industry’s current and future skills needs. The agreements tackle the industry’s key challenges and include targets such as increasing the number of young people completing apprenticeships each year from 3,000 to 13,000 per year, and a threefold increase in the number of construction SME’s investing in training. A core element of this is a review of construction training provision, to ensure that funding is geared towards courses that will improve the employability of the students and meet the needs of the construction industry. Peter Lobban, Chief Executive of ConstructionSkills, said: “This will contribute to the success of the Sector Skills Agreement, which formally gives employers a real say in the skills and training needs of the industry, creating the best opportunity we have ever had to tackle construction’s future skills needs. “ConstructionSkills believes that although theory can be gained in classrooms, experience has to come from on-site training and practice. This principle is a central focus of the SSA, and must be applied across the industry to ensure we have the skilled workers required to build the schools, hospitals, roads, houses and sporting venues planned for the next 10 years.” Further information about the Sector Skills Agreement can be found at http://www.constructionskills.net. ConstructionSkills is a partnership between CIC, CITB-ConstructionSkills and CITB (NI) as the Sector Skills Council for Construction. 3. Construction industry launches campaign to attract graduate and female recruits The construction industry has launched a £1 million campaign to attract women and those from black and minority ethnic groups into the industry. The twelve-month Positive Image campaign is fronted by T4 presenter June Sarpong. It aims to communicate the benefits of a construction career to those most discouraged by its image of “blokes, bums and bricks”. The campaign will have an emphasis on bringing graduate-level recruits into the industry. Recent research by the Equal Opportunities Commission shows that while one in eight girls are keen to work in the industry, just 1% of construction workers is female.* “The construction industry is missing out on much-needed talent due to an out-dated image that’s a real ‘turn-off’ for women and those from ethnic minorities” says Nicola Thompson, Director of Communications at CITB-ConstructionSkills. “Like other industries, construction is moving with the times, and this campaign is an investment in its life-blood.” “The industry has openings for professional and graduate level entrants: from civil engineers to landscape architects. It has developed a need for more technically qualified employees as changing building techniques demand greater science-based skills of its workforce. “All of this means the brightest and best recruits will find fantastic career opportunities in construction, with upcoming building projects such as the £63 million Thames Gateway development, the £400 million Olympic bid, as well as new schools, hospitals and roads. Construction is growing rapidly and needs 86,000 new people, in craft, technical and management roles this year.” The “Positive Image” campaign highlights the best of new British construction design. It features projects from Birmingham’s Selfridges building to the Millennium Stadium and the Gateshead Bridge. It showcases the diverse roles that young women and those from black and ethnic groups could be playing in such iconic projects. The construction industry has a particular need for recruits with engineering, surveying, project management and computer science-related skills. It is also looking for management talent: for those with skills from HR and communications to finance and training. Aspects of the Positive Image campaign 2005 include
Nicola Thompson concludes: “Although latest figures from UCAS show that the number of places accepted on construction degree courses has seen a huge increase on last year, we need to see more new recruits at all levels. “The Positive Image campaign will showcase the diverse roles that young women and those from black and ethnic minorities could be playing in the next generation of new projects: from re-building the nation’s school buildings to helping restore heritage buildings. “A career in the modern construction industry really can take young people to places they never imagined.” 4. ConstructionSkills launches £1 million scholarship scheme to attract ‘brightest and best’ undergraduates to industry ConstructionSkills, together with leading employers from the industry, is launching a £1,000,000 scholarship scheme for students. The scheme is open to the “top 35%” of students applying for October 2005 degree courses in construction and the built environment. The Inspire Scholarship scheme offers 60 packages to undergraduates, providing students with funding of up to £9,000 to support them through university. In addition, sponsoring employers will provide a 10-week summer placement at the end of scholars’ first year, and the possibility of placement opportunities during the sandwich years, as well as potential employment upon graduation. The Inspire Scholarship scheme is sponsored by employers such as Amec Group, Balfour Beatty, Mowlem and Persimmon, who have provided match funding to the £500,000 contributed by ConstructionSkills. Inspire Scholarships aims to encourage more quality recruits into the industry while helping gifted students to finance their studies. The launch of the Inspire Scholarships scheme coincides with the start of ConstructionSkills’ 2005 Positive Image campaign, which aims to present a positive image of construction as a career to young people. Nicola Thomson, Director of Communications & Marketing for CITB-ConstructionSkills says: “An increasing number of school-leavers are opting for construction degree courses. However, the trend needs to accelerate rapidly to meet the needs of the industry. Almost half of the employers who took part in a recent construction industry survey reported skills gaps are causing serious problems, which the Inspire Scholarships scheme should help to address. We’re grateful to the construction industry’s leading employers who have supported the scheme. They will provide scholars with on-site training and practice to match the theory that they will learn on their courses, raising the quality of next year’s recruits to the industry. ConstructionSkills firmly believes that you can learn theory, but skills are only developed through practice. Inspire Scholarships enable us to support talented young people with both the theory and the skills they will need to excel in our industry. It is this personal involvement of companies that will help address the graduate recruitment problem to benefit the industry as a whole by tackling future skills needs.” Click For A Career In Construction About the Inspire Scholarships scheme Inspire Scholarships will only be offered to the top 35% of all university applicants. Sponsoring companies, including Amec Group Ltd, Balfour Beatty plc, Mowlem plc and Persimmon plc, in conjunction with ConstructionSkills, are offering the three-year scholarships beginning with a 10 week summer placement at the end of the student’s first year at university. The students will be involved fully in projects and tasks, and will undergo regular review. The student will then need to provide a placement report before the start of their second year in order to continue as an Inspire Scholar. Companies will endeavour to provide placement opportunities in the Scholar’s sandwich years, and permanent jobs upon graduation. Altogether, the construction industry will be contributing over £1,000,000 in financing the Inspire Scholarships, with ConstructionSkills contributing £500,000. 5. Sir Howard Bernstein awarded Happold Medal The CIC and the Happold Trust hosted the fourth Happold Medal Lecture on Monday 4 April, a regular event held in memory of the CIC’s first chairman, Professor Sir Edmund (Ted) Happold. Sir Howard Bernstein, was presented with the Happold Medal at the ICE in London, following his lecture on the Regeneration of Manchester. Continuing the sustainability theme of past Happold Lectures, Sir Howard talked passionately about the importance of sustainability to Manchester and the tremendous regeneration that is taking place in the city. The importance of positive planning, high quality design, and the need to ensure benefits are captured by local people were all key themes in Sir Howard’s lecture. Michael Dickson, Chair of the Happold Trust and former Chairman of the CIC said: “ Sir Howard's lecture The Regeneration of Manchester revealed the exceptional civic leadership and wide ranging and holistic principles that are the prerequisite of civic, economic and social regeneration. It laid out a useful model for the creation of Regional Centres elsewhere in the UK where high quality design in the broadest sense is central to the creation of outstanding urban brand. His story was a fascinating illustration of a city seizing the opportunity to make itself relevant and sustainable through a set of measurable goals. Indeed urban sustainability was the theme that linked this year's CIC Happold lecture to those given previously by Sir Crispin Tickell , Amory Lovins and Tessa Tennant whose title was Building Sustainable Britain plc.” Sir Howard Bernstein’s lecture will be published shortly by CIC. 6. Launch of SiD – a new health and safety initiative for designers The Safety in Design (SiD) initiative launched earlier this week will help to bridge the gap between designers and builders and could lead to a reduction in health and safety problems in the industry. SiD provides minimum standards of knowledge and competence for designers so that they can work with health and safety in mind, leading to fewer delays, costs and, ultimately, accidents further down the line. The SiD Learning Aims and Standards of Competence include the knowledge and competence needed to design buildings and structures that can be not only safely built, but also safely used and maintained. These Standards have huge implications for the construction industry. The SiD Learning Aims and Standards of Competence have been developed by CIC, as a partner in ConstructionSkills, in conjunction with SiD Limited, supported by a steering group from industry bodies and institutions. They can be viewed on the CIC website at http://www.cic.org.uk/sid further guidance on design and health and safety issues can be found on the Safety in Design website at http://www.safetyindesign.org. Speakers at the launch of SiD on 19 April included Stuart Henderson, Chairman of CIC and Tim Gough, Director of SiD Ltd. Keith Clarke, Chief Executive of Atkins, and Mark Poole, Construction Safety Specialist for BBC Property also spoke about the importance and benefits of the SiD initiative and their support for it. Keith Clarke, Chief Executive of Atkins, and Chairman of SiD Ltd said: Stuart Henderson Chairman of CIC said 7. ACE issues policy statement and briefing note on reverse auctioning The Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) has produced a policy statement on the issue of reverse auctioning which outlines recommendations for consultancies which are being asked to bid for work in this way. In conjunction with this policy statement, ACE has also produced a briefing note to be issued to clients who are procuring using reverse auctioning. The briefing note advises clients on the risks associated with the use of reverse auctioning in the procurement of professional services. The briefing note and policy statement can be downloaded from the policy area of the ACE website at http://www.acenet.co.uk/index.cfm?page=45 For further information on this issue contact Andy Walker, ACE communications director, at awalker@acenet.co.uk or phone 020 7227 1889. 8. ICES 2005 Commercial Manager Award The Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors are inviting nominations for the 2005 Commercial Manager Award This prestigious biennial award is now gathering pace, as the Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors continues to promote and recognise the outstanding contribution commercial managers make within the civil engineering industry. Eligibility & Specialisms Quantity surveying, estimating, project management, commercial advisers and other non-geospatial engineering specialisms, either individually or through team leadership. A candidate will have, within two years prior to the closing date for nominations, made an outstanding contribution in any of the following ways: working in a senior position with responsibility for any of the above disciplines on a major, high-profile construction project or have made a substantial contribution to the profession. Nomination Procedures 1. Complete the nomination form (download from the Institution’s website, www.ices.org.uk) The Prize The winner of this award will be presented with a gold medal, a cheque for £500.00 and a certificate to commemorate their achievement. The Institution will announce the winner of the award and present the award at the Institution Dinner in September 2005. Nomination should be sent to: 2005 CM Award, ICES Head Office, Dominion House, Sibson Road, Sale, Cheshire, M33 7PP UK 9. Events The events page of the CIC website is frequently updated visit the events page for details.
|
|
| For general information please contact CIC | ||
| What is CIC
| Activities | Services
| Regions | News
and Events | Links | Search
| Site Map | Accessibility | Terms and conditions | Home |
© 2004 - 2008 Construction Industry Council. Construction Industry Council is a company no. 2388396 limited by guarantee, registered in England. CIC registered office: 26 Store Street London WC1E 7BT |